Free Republic

Strains our credulity to image that this man was really given the Father of the Year Award...by anyone.

Fort Bragg wanted to bar reporters from the book signing. Garrison Commander Col. Stephen J. Sicinski determined that by keeping out the media, the base would prevent Palin, a Republican and possible candidate in 2012, from having a platform from which to attack President Barack Obama, a Democrat. "Fort Bragg, nor any other Army installation, cannot be used or appear to be used as endorsing criticism of the commander in chief," said base spokesman Thomas D. McCollum. "Because this book signing is turning into a political platform with the addition of media coverage, we are restricting the media coverage." But...

The federal government’s “footprint” in the housing market In a review of the 2010 budget, the federal government’s “footprint” in the housing market was broad and deep. In addition to the support provided by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Home Loan Bank System and Farm Credit to the housing market, there were roughly 177 housing programs in the administration’s 2010 budget in more than 11 agencies, including the Federal Reserve (4 programs), Treasury Department (6), HUD (93), Department of Agriculture (46), Department of Defense (8), Department of Education (2), Department of Homeland Security (3), Department of Justice (1), Department...

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its annual data on compensation levels by industry (Tables 6.2D, 6.3D, and 6.6D here). The data show that the pay advantage enjoyed by federal civilian workers over private-sector workers continues to expand. The George W. Bush years were very lucrative for federal workers. In 2000, the average compensation (wages and benefits) of federal workers was 66 percent higher than the average compensation in the U.S. private sector. The new data show that average federal compensation is now more than double the average in the private sector. Figure 1 looks at average wages. In...

This decade has been good for associate vice chancellors at UNC-Chapel Hill. Their numbers have nearly doubled, from 10 to 19, and the money paid to them has more than tripled, to a total of nearly $4million a year. The university now admits that some of these people were in jobs that were not vital. They represent the rapid management growth in the 16-campus UNC system that has added tens of millions of dollars to annual payrolls.

Over the past five years, taxpayers have paid about $8 million to 117 administrators who either returned to the faculty or left the university. In 24 cases, the payouts were for $100,000 or more. A News & Observer review found that these agreements, along with other transitional payments, offered sizable sums of money with few or no strings attached, in at least three cases violated UNC system policies and in some cases rewarded administrators with as much as a year's salary for a job poorly done.

Israeli Prime Minister ...Netanyahu [making] his first official visit with ... President ... Obama. A range of issues — including the future of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Israeli-Syrian talks and Iran policy — are on the table. This is one of an ... series of meetings between U.S. presidents and Israeli prime ministers over the years, many of which concerned these same issues. ... little has changed... The ... Israeli-Palestinian peace process for years has been the assumption that there would be a two-state solution. Such a solution has not materialized for a host of reasons. First, ... there are two Palestinian...

The future of the GOP lies not in listening to advice from losing, liberal strategists but in restoring conservative principles and remembering why Reagan was so stunningly successful against extraordinary odds. Veering left would only relegate the party to sitting by the sidelines as Obama's radical socialist juggernaut advances.

An Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republican report Countrywide Financial Corporation’s infamous VIP and Friends of Angelo Program offers new insight into the inner workings of Countrywide’s efforts to buy friends in critical government and industry positions affecting the company’s business interests. “This investigation finds that Countrywide embarked in a determined and calculated effort to buy influence – employees openly weighed the political influence of targeted officials when deciding what perks to offer,” said Issa. “Countrywide VIPs in positions of key responsibility didn’t innocently stumble into loans with reduced rates and waived fees – they were recruited into the program...

It’s darn near impossible to prosecute someone for election-related fraud, public attorneys say. That’s even as Texas Watchdog has found two apparent cases of impersonation of dead people at the polls. But does that mean Texas should require photo ID? Lawmakers will weigh that question in the coming days.

Microsoft is an early beneficiary of the stimulus plan. The software giant, which is sitting on $20bn in cash, was awarded $11m to help construct a highway overpass connecting two parts of its Redmond, Washington campus.

Michelle has a clip from CNN that demonstrates the silliness of the mortgage-bailout efforts of the Obama administration. Minta Garcia and her family bought an $800,000 home that they could not afford, using speculative lending as a lever. The value of the house has dropped to $675,000, and now Garcia faces foreclosure. However, the coverage omits a critical piece of the puzzle:

When President Obama discusses his $275 billion mortgage bailout, he talks as if it was a national problem, caused by a national decline in home prices. "...The beneficiaries of taxpayer charity will be highly concentrated in just five states - California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida and Michigan.

1/6/2009--Introduced. Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 - Amends the Brady Act to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm unless that person has been issued a firearm license under this Act or a state system certified under this Act Prohibits transferring or receiving a qualifying firearm unless the recipient presents a valid firearms license, the license is verified, and the dealer records a tracking authorization number. Prescribes firearms transfer reporting and record keeping requirements. Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a federal record of sale system. Prohibits: (1) transferring a firearm to...

Tom Coburn R-OK, author of Betrayal of Trust, fiscal conservative has analysed the Stimulus Bill for us. Read this, write your congressman, please!

RALEIGH — As I looked out on a sea of shining faces at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication on Tuesday, I couldn’t help thinking to myself: “Man, I’d hate to be you guys.” My, how things have changed since I was in journalism school (early ‘70s). Back then, there was a job waiting for everyone,.... It all changed in the mid-1990s with the arrival of the Internet. Editors and publishers whistled past the graveyard for many years, assuming that people would always desire good editors to help them sort through all that confusing stuff...

On June 3, 2005 at 10:45 p.m. in Memphis, Tennessee, Dorothy Gibson Cully, 86, died peacefully, while in the loving care of her two favorite children, Barbara and David. All of her breath leaked out....

"He had more Jewish blood on his hands than anybody since Hitler. He was a strategist of the murder of women, children and the aged. No normal nation would have dedicated this amount of endless broadcasts to a person responsible for the deaths of so many of their kin," aides close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in what appeared to be a rebuke to the media for its exhaustive coverage of the burial of the Palestinian leader on Friday.

If the presidential election were held this week, who would you vote for? * 628964 responses George W. Bush 47% John Kerry 52% Ralph Nader 2% Not a scientifically valid survey. Click to learn more.

On Hugh Hewitt's show yesterday, Hugh had a guest who said Secretary Rumsefeld turned down Time Magazine's offer to make him Person of the Year. Instead, Rummey asked that they select the American soldier. This guest added that Rummey (personally) contributed $100,000 to the Pentagon's Memorial for the victims of 9/11... What a great American--a true hero. I have a friend who works at the Pentagon and attended Rummey's Christmas party. A staffer told Rummey that my friend's five year old son had had a bad day (had a tooth pulled at the dentist and for that reason was stuck...